Service Animals/Special Accommodations

Hurley v. Loma Linda University Medical Center, Not Reported in F.Supp.2d (2014)
Hurley, a woman diagnosed with PTSD at the age of seven, was questioned several times by security for her service dog’s documentation after a family dispute ensued while visiting her grandfather in the hospital. The District court held that the security officer’s questioning for service dog documentation was a violation of Title III of the ADA and constituted discrimination. Under 28 C.F.R. § 36.302(c)(1), the ADA prohibits certain inquires about service animals and states that a public accommodation may not require documentation to show that the service dog has been certified, trained or licensed. The court held that the security officer clearly violated the ADA when he repeatedly asked for documentation for the service dog, although Hurley’s disability was not readily apparent.

Sabal Palm Condominiums of Pine Island Ridge Ass'n Inc. v. Fischer, 12-60691-CIV, 2014 WL 1092361 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 19, 2014).
The District Court in this case was tasked with deciding whether residents, Laurence and Deborah Fischer, of Sabal Palm Condominiums, an association with a no pet policy, may have a service animal on the property as a reasonable accommodation for Deborah, who has multiple sclerosis and is confined to a wheelchair. The District Court determined that the association violated the Fair Housing Act by refusing to grant the Fischer’s request for a reasonable accommodation, which would allow Deborah to “have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy her dwelling”.